downloads posts
FeedPosted Sep 28th 2009 4:40PM by Michael Fowlkes (RSS feed)
Filed under: Good news, Products and Services, Consumer Experience, Apple Inc (AAPL), iPhone, Technology
Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:
AAPL) hit another big milestone today, announcing that its App Store had hit
2 billion total downloads.
The number is pretty impressive to say the least, and will continue to rise at a rapid pace. Apple now has 85,000 applications available for download, and its services are currently being offered in 77 different countries. That number is up from the
65,000 applications that were available this past July.
Continue reading Apple reports 2 billion app downloads
Posted Feb 12th 2008 6:08PM by Richard Driver (RSS feed)
Filed under: Products and Services, Consumer Experience, Television, Rants and Raves, Apple Inc (AAPL), Amazon.com (AMZN), Columns, Media World
I normally don't watch the Grammy Awards because they never feel very representative to me of creativity and innovation in the record industry. That's a very narrow view, which is part of what made this year different. I did watch part of the ceremony, but I also enjoyed it and was happy with a number of the winners. Herbie Hancock's win was the most satisfying for me. Even though I don't listen to jazz, I can still appreciate his sentiment during his acceptance speech that the academy had finally broken the mold and awarded a jazz album the highest honors for the first time in 43 years is very telling.
It's breaking the mold that has me thinking about the record industry because it is on the verge of a major shift and reorganization. Searching for some insight into the awards, I came across this
piece about the awards and the "revolution" that is occurring now in comparison to the "revolution" that was just starting in the music industry 50 years ago. What this piece illustrates expertly is how quickly the record industry has declined. It is hard to believe that once there was optimism in the industry for technology and technological growth. It's also hard to believe that album sales only peaked 8 years ago.
Technology seems to have become quite the problem for the record industry, as they find themselves fighting against the internet community and consumers that illegally download music. But, illegal downloaders are not the only consumers that have caused the decline of the record industry; it is also those listeners that legally download music from digital store's like
Apple, Inc. (NASDAQ:
AAPL)'s iTunes, or
Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:
AMZN)'s new MP3 store. In addition, the technology that was highly regarded in 1958, the LP (or its counterpart, the CD) has also contributed to the decline.
Continue reading The Grammy Awards as Revolution: a 50-year musical cycle
Posted Jan 23rd 2008 5:13PM by Richard Driver (RSS feed)
Filed under: Deals, Products and Services, Competitive Strategy, Apple Inc (AAPL), Wal-Mart (WMT), Amazon.com (AMZN), Target Corp. (TGT), Sony Corp ADR (SNE), Technology
Billboard reported yesterday that
Target Corp. (NYSE:
TGT) has entered a "special promotion" with Sony BMG, owned by
Sony Corp. (NYSE:
SNE) and Bertelsmann Music Group, to launch a digital music service offering high quality MP3 files for just
one artist and
one album: John Legend and his
Live from Philadelphia album. The album comes without the anti-piracy Digital Rights Management software and sells for $10; there is no option to purchase single tracks. The CD version of the album is currently available at Target, as an "only at Target" special.
Song BMG seems ready to make the headlong entrance into high quality MP3 sales, even if this deal is a special promotion for an album only available at one retailer. Target is one of the limited companies also offering Sony BMG's new album cards that let buyers download high quality DRM-free MP3s. Sony BMG also entered a
new agreement with
Amazon.com (NASDAQ:
AMZN) last week to sell the same quality tracks in the new MP3 store the online retailer has opened.
An interesting aspect of this promotion is that the album in question is available "only at Target" in both physical and now digital formats. This is not an unfamiliar method of selling an album: the Eagles'
Long Road Out of Eden was only released in
Wal-Mart (NYSE:
WMT) stores and on the company's website. Previous albums released in only one physical retailer also saw release in various digital stores, like Collective Soul's
Afterwords, released at Target and in
Apple (NASDAQ:
AAPL)'s iTunes Store. The verdict on this method is quite good, after
Billboard chart regulations were changed in late October, which allowed the Eagles' album to hit number one above the most recent Britney Spears release, which was available in numerous outlets and online.
Posted Jan 11th 2008 3:46PM by Richard Driver (RSS feed)
Filed under: Press Releases, Products and Services, Consumer Experience, Competitive Strategy, Microsoft (MSFT), Apple Inc (AAPL), Amazon.com (AMZN), Marketing and Advertising, Sony Corp ADR (SNE)
Amazon.com (NASDAQ:
AMZN) and Sony BMG, a joint venture of
Sony Corp. (NYSE:
SNE) and Germany's Bertelsmann Media Group,
announced yesterday that Amazon's new MP3 store will soon carry the label's entire catalog. This move makes Amazon.com's MP3 store the only digital store to offer consumer's Digital Rights Management-free MP3 tracks from all four major labels, with Sony BMG joining privately-held EMI Group,
Warner Music Group (NYSE:
WMG), and
Vivendi (OTC:
VIVEF)'s Universal Music Group.
Previously, Sony had announced a new promotion of album cards, which would allow listeners to download DRM-free MP3s, but it was limited to only about three dozen albums. The new agreement brings the entire catalog to Amazon.
The major point here is that Amazon's store now offers tracks that are playable on virtually any platform or device, from
Microsoft (NASDAQ:
MSFT)'s Zune and
Apple (NASDAQ:
AAPL)'s iPod to various off-brand players. In a press release given to Ellen Livshin of OutCast Communications, Amazon.com Vice President for Digital Music Bill Carr revealed this very fact: "Our Amazon MP3 customers will be able to choose from a full selection of DRM-free music downloads from all four major labels and over 33,000 independents that they can play on virtually any music-capable device." U.S. Sales head for Sony Thomas Hesse echoed these sentiments and added that the label is "excited to be working with Amazon as they continue to build new markets for digital music."
I've remarked before that the Amazon.com MP3 store would increase competition and drive the digital market forward, and with this announcement it seems that many predictions about the online music realm are being realized, albeit much earlier than expected. Many had pointed to mid-year as the time when DRM technology would disappear completely, but as we can now see, that timeline will be January, at least for one store.
The move is also a potentially devastating blow to Apple's iTunes Store, which had headed up the move away from DRM but has not great success, managing to score only the EMI catalog early last summer. Whatever the case may be, the Amazon.com move will increase the competition and hopefully begin the revitalization process the music industry needs. All they have to do is promote it and get consumers interested.
Posted Nov 29th 2007 5:00PM by Richard Driver (RSS feed)
Filed under: Bad News, Rumors, Products and Services
The
record loss in credits markets since August is
dampening plans by music companies EMI and
Warner Music Group Corp. (NYSE:
WMG) to refinance debts and provide dividends to shareholders, while "reinvesting in core operations." The company's plans come at a time when the music industry is dealing with sharp declines in CD sales and the continued problems in the face of widespread digital growth, according to the Financial Times. Unfortunately, neither company is rumored to be pressing ahead with the plans. WMG stock has fallen nearly $20 in the past year according to the same report, a trend that could certainly welcome a boost.
These rumors come at a time when similar rumors have been announced that EMI
wants to cut funding to trade groups like the Recording Industry of America, which work against piracy, and issue that the industry has been dealing with for a number of years. This plan hopes to benefit from the back catalogs of major artists and the potential future catalogs those artists will produce. The Financial Times notes "the steady revenues generated by music publishing have become increasingly prized by investors at a time when the future of the more glamorous recorded music business is uncertain." The major reason cited for that uncertainty is the industry's inability to create digital sales to replace missing CD sales.
In the end, the credit problems these companies face only indicate that new business models are needed. Luckily EMI seems to be leading some kind of change in the current model, after dropping the use of anti-piracy software in media files last April. If major retailers start to cut back on space allotted to CDs, which is another prediction the Financial Times quotes, the industry could face even more setbacks. Frankly, an expedited move toward the digital market is needed to offset a number of these problems, but that is going to take a major wake up call and changes in the credit market may serve as a needed rough shake.
Posted Nov 8th 2007 6:12PM by Richard Driver (RSS feed)
Filed under: Press Releases, Products and Services, Internet, Marketing and Advertising, Technology
The music industry-
rattling Radiohead album released online last month is set for its "traditional" physical CD release at the very end of this year,
according to British music newspaper NME. The album,
In Rainbows, will be released internationally December 31 and have a single pulled from it early in the new year. No American release date has been
mentioned. At the same time, the band has questioned the
report that many listeners chose to get the album for free when Radiohead allowed fans to choose their own price.
A statement by the band reads: "In response to purely speculative figures announced in the press regarding the number of downloads and the price paid for the album, the group's representatives would like to remind people that, as the album could only be downloaded from the band's website, it is impossible for outside organizations to have accurate figures on sales."
NME also adds that another part of that statement, "confirms that the figures quoted by the company comScore Inc. are wholly inaccurate, and in no way reflect definitive market intelligence or, indeed, the true success of the project."
If we are questioning the validity of the comScore report, we should also question its purpose. The simple fact is that Radiohead offered the album to fans knowing that some might try to get it for free. If many did, then it's likely the band sees no problem with that anyway. Its management has been on record saying that the download "buy for your own price" was essentially a marketing ploy for the physical CD release. Well, here we have the physical CD release, and the fans that did not buy the Radiohead-released physical "Discbox" will likely buy the new CD copy, in addition to the download (I can say that I will). In the end, the album may be released traditionally, but that does not mean the experimental download release was a failure. Neither does the fact that some fans "bought" it for free.
Posted Oct 10th 2007 5:20PM by Richard Driver (RSS feed)
Filed under: Press Releases, Competitive Strategy, Media World
Guy Hands, the Terra Firma executive, who is now the "top executive" at EMI, recently warned staff that record labels need to let the CD go and embrace digital "opportunities" if the industry is to survive in the expanding market, according to a
report by
Billboard. Terra Firma is a private equity firm based in London that succeeded in
buying out EMI in late July and since then both EMI and Terra Firma have been quiet about the direction EMI would go in any business model.
Citing the recent
move by Radiohead to take their music directly to the fans (Radiohead was previously an EMI "act"),
Billboard reports that Hands "proposed labels act more like venture capitalists" taking both profits and losses from artists recording and touring -- in direct opposition to the standard model of paying artists up front for album production. If that becomes operating procedure, EMI's move in April to discontinue use of Digital Rights Management technology could soon by overshadowed by more "pioneering" and inventive ideas, hopefully designed to give fans better access to the music they crave.
While it is not surprising that the new executives in charge of EMI would shake up the tired model, it is quite telling that a leaked memo as revealing as this could only come in the wake of Radiohead's move for their new album
In Rainbows. It seems all too apparent that the record labels needed a very stable artist to make the first move toward a more fan-based market, as opposed to any label risking a move away from the tried and failing model that Hands' cites. EMI is apparently the first label to embrace these new ideas, as was indicated by the DRM move, but hopefully the bigger companies will follow suit in due time. How long can they sit on their "hands?"
Posted Oct 5th 2007 2:28PM by Zac Bissonnette (RSS feed)
Filed under: Law, Consumer Experience, Rants and Raves, Competitive Strategy
There's an old saying about getting into a fight with a lady: "If you lose you lose, and if you win you lose."
Well, the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) has won a battle with a 30-year old single mother from Minnesota. A federal jury ordered the woman the woman to pay $222,000 in damages for sharing 24 songs on online file-sharing platform Kazaa -- That's $9,250 per song.
"She was in tears. She's devastated," the woman's attorney attorney, Brian Toder,
told The Associated Press. "This is a girl that lives from paycheck to paycheck, and now all of a sudden she could get a quarter of her paycheck garnished for the rest of her life."
The actual judgment could come in closer to half a million dollars, because she will also have to pay the RIAA's attorney's fees.
While this is an important symbolic victory for the industry, you have to hope that they will let this poor woman off the hook. In addition to its financial struggles, the industry is also reeling from angry consumers and upset artists. Demonstrating some compassion toward a single mother could go a long way towards building some goodwill.
But if the industry does decide to play hardball with this woman, they may find out that, in the long run, this victory is actually a major loss.
Posted Oct 2nd 2007 11:30AM by Brian White (RSS feed)
Filed under: Industry, Apple Inc (AAPL), Next Big Thing, Tech for the Rest of Us
Are DVDs on their way out as a way to distribute films, specials, TV shows and other video content? Although the early-adopter crowd says yes, I have my doubts. The value added into DVDs these days far outweighs the relative complexity many consumers must confront to get downloadable video content onto their living room televisions.
Alternate audio tracks, digital surround and a plethora of extra features movie producers add to most DVDs are prized by almost every DVD fan I know. On the other hand, downloading a movie for free can be a bit of a process for the technically challenged as well as being a pain to get on that television. There are products like the Apple, Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) Apple TV that takes care of this, but at a high cost. DVD players? $30 at a local retailer and you are ready to go.
The price of DVDs has continued to come down slowly but surely, which has to cause concern for movie studios who fear margins are being eroded at the same time movie downloads threaten to lower the revenue bar even further. In an age where DVD releases are meant to make up theater revenue letdowns, the dropping of DVD prices could be seen as a threat. But movie downloads? It's hard to find one solution offered by any company that even comes close to threatening the physical DVD as distribution medium for video content.
Continue reading Hollywood freaking out over lower DVD prices, movie downloads?
Posted Sep 30th 2007 9:02PM by Peter Cohan (RSS feed)
Filed under: Launches, Competitive Strategy, Apple Inc (AAPL), Starbucks (SBUX)
Starting tomorrow, according to the New York Times [registration required] at certain Starbucks Corp. (NASDAQ: SBUX) stores, owners of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) iPhones will be able to hear a song while sipping their coffee and immediately purchase and download it to their iPhones.
This reminds me of an episode from Seinfeld in which George Costanza says: "Food and sex, those are my two passions. It's only natural to combine them." Here, the two needs are a little different -- overpriced coffee (Starbucks) and music on a phone (Apple). Before these companies came along, people didn't realize they had these needs. But now, they realize they need both and appear poised to pay to have them combined.
Specifically, anyone with an iPhone or iTunes software loaded onto a laptop will be able download the songs they hear over the speakers at these Starbucks stores directly onto those devices. The price will be 99 cents a song. The concept is being introduced in around 600 cafes in New York and Seattle only. Users sign onto the cafe's WiFi network to discover what song is playing over the Starbucks speakers. With a few taps, users can download the song onto their iPhones.
Unlike George Costanza's twin passions, this combination of two services will be something that is apparently OK to do in public. Whether it's profitable for both companies remains to be seen.
Peter Cohan is president of Peter S. Cohan & Associates. He also teaches management at Babson College and edits The Cohan Letter. He has no financial interest in Apple or Starbucks.
Posted Sep 26th 2007 7:20PM by Brian White (RSS feed)
Filed under: Products and Services, Amazon.com (AMZN)
Is
Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:
AMZN)'s Unbox video download service worth a look for those wanting to get into video downloads outside of
Apple, Inc. (NASDAQ:
AAPL)'s iTunes product offerings? Depending on which products you may already have in your home, it very well may be.
Amazon's Unbox video service has been tweaked since I originally looked at it a few months ago, and now the service offers many free TV show downloads for use with your computer or portable media player (like the new
Creative Zen), as well as movie and TV show downloads for your
TiVo, Inc. (NASDAQ:
TIVO) box.
While Amazon's Unbox video player program download doesn't feature all the niceties of Apple's iTunes, I'm not sure it was designed to. The program download, which facilitates content transfer to your PC, is very straightforward and incredibly easy to use. While not featuring music or podcast downloads, the program focuses on video content exclusively (for now). However, that may change soon, with Amazon recently unveiling that it's now offering
2+ million non copy-protected music downloads as well. Perhaps the Unbox player will feature music content soon? That would be my educated guess.
Continue reading Amazon's (AMZN) Unbox video service turning into Apple (AAPL) iTunes competitor?
Posted Sep 19th 2007 7:36PM by Douglas McIntyre (RSS feed)
Filed under: Launches, Consumer Experience, Competitive Strategy, Apple Inc (AAPL), General Electric (GE)
NBC, a division of GE (NYSE: GE), announced late today that it would offer free downloads of its popular TV shows. The programming will be available for PC viewing. TV commercials will remain in the shows and cannot be skipped.
According to The New York Times, the shows can be downloaded for one week after they are broadcast. "The NBC service, called NBC Direct, will begin a testing period in October with plans to be operational in November."
Perhaps it is a coincidence, but the programs will only work on Windows-based PCs. NBC cut its ties with Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) iTunes at the beginning of the month.
PaidContent writes that eventually, users will be able to freely subscribe to pre-selected NBC programs, which will be sent to their computer right after the first broadcast airing. NBC's plans for the next year may include the ability for consumers to own the content permanently instead of having a file that expires a week after a show airs.
The move by the network, which is likely to be followed by other large content owners, may well be an effective way to break the strangle-hold that iTunes has on digital content. NBC did not want Apple to set the pricing for its shows. Offering the content for free would seem to trump that.
Steve Jobs will not be able to check out the new competition. The offering will not work on his Mac.
Douglas A. McIntyre is a partner at 247wallst.com.
Posted Sep 18th 2007 8:00AM by Barry Summerlin (RSS feed)
Filed under: Products and Services, Consumer Experience, Internet, Microsoft (MSFT), Apple Inc (AAPL), Amazon.com (AMZN), Technology
Free music downloads, sweet! Digital music newcomer
SpiralFrog went live yesterday, giving away tunes to all us Thifty McLintpockets, sticking it to
iTunes, asking only that we show a little love to its sponsors. Are we back in the
Napster shopping-spree days of 2000, ready to grind our employers' networks to a standstill?
Not quite. The tragically titled SpiralFrog -- run by the private Mohen Inc., whose interests appear to be solely this venture -- bills itself as "the market-driven solution to illicit pirate file-sharing sites." It claims to be gunning not so much for
Apple (NASDAQ:
AAPL)'s iTunes or
Amazon (NASDAQ:
AMZN)'s forthcoming MP3 site, but instead challenging amorphous peer-to-peer MP3 networks like LimeWire and Soulseek, priding itself on being free of viruses, spyware and other nasties.
Not that this is a bad idea -- it's actually a very good, very natural idea. No need to point out that well before websites gave away content for a smattering of
mortgage lenders' ads, radio, network television, magazines and newspapers were all available freely or at least affordably as advertisers footed the bills. So why couldn't music downloads work as well?
Continue reading SpiralFrog's free music: Should Apple (AAPL) worry?
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BusinessWeek reported Friday that Sony BMG, a joint venture of Sony (NYSE: SNE) and Germany's Bertlesmann Media Group, is finalizing moves to offer music downloads free from Digital Rights Management. Sony's move follows recent comparable efforts by the other three major labels, Warner Music Group (NYSE: WMG), Vivendi (OTC: VIVEF)'s Universal and privately-held EMI.
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